Chickens ‘could hold clue for cancer treatment’

Research published in the current issue of Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences has suggested that chickens could hold some clues for the future treatment of cancer and other illnesses.

A team of international scientists including James Womack, distinguished professor of veterinary pathobiology in the College of Veterinary Medicine & Biomedical Sciences at Texas A&M, examined 62 White Leghorn and 53 Cornish chickens for diversity in NK-lysin.

This antibacterial substance occurs naturally in many animals and helps them fight diseases.

However, the team found one variation of Nk-lysin that also appeared to work against cancer cells.

Professor Womack said: "This could lead to other steps to fight cancer or in developing ways to prevent certain infections or even diseases. It's another door that has been opened up."

He added that the next step is to work with different animals and assess how they are affected by the substance.

This follows a study published in the journal Pediatrics suggesting that the human papillomavirus vaccine can help reduce rates of cervical cancer.